Snow Is In The Forecast But Spring Is In The Air: Spring break, softball and more

With a dusting of snow in the forecast today, it seems a little odd to be writing about spring break and other spring activities—even if they are right around the corner.

Spring Job and Internship Fair
Spring break is the first week of March, but before your student gets into that spring break state of mind they have the opportunity to check out job and internship opportunities at the Spring Job and Internship Fair on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

So far, representatives from 44 businesses, nonprofits, school districts, graduate schools and state and local government agencies have signed up to attend.

The event will be held from 1-4 p.m. in Blackwell Ballroom. Students should dress professionally  and bring copies of their resume.

Planning for Spring Break
Any student who lives in university-managed housing and needs access to their residence after 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, must “register to stay” before midnight next Thursday, Feb. 27. Even If there’s only a chance they’ll be staying on campus over the break, the housing office recommends that students go ahead and fill out the form. Being locked out of your residence hall or your apartment is no fun.

The form can be found via the Student Housing Gateway, which can be accessed from the Housing and Residence Life page here—https://longwood.edu/housing/—but your student will need to fill it out.

Here are some other pieces of spring break information you and your student should keep in mind:

  • From a student housing point of view, spring break is from 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, until noon Sunday, March 8.
  • University administrative offices will be closed Monday, March 2, and Tuesday, March 3.
  • The Farmville Area Bus (FAB) will stop running at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28, and will resume at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 8. This means there is no bus service for travel to Lancer Park or Longwood Village during the break.
  • Residence hall rooms and apartments are subject to entry during the break for maintenance, general work and safety inspections.
  • Dorrill Dining Hall and other food venues will have limited hours during the break period. Information about food venue hours can be found here: https://longwood.campusdish.com
  • Classes resume March 9.

Spring Is For Softball—And Winning
An afternoon at the ballpark is a favorite spring activity—especially when the Lancer softball team is playing.

Longwood’s softball team was again picked as the preseason favorite to take home the Big South Conference crown.

Longwood softball has dominated the Big South since joining the league in 2012-13, winning the conference championship a record-setting five times during that period.

The team was again the preseason favorite to take home the conference crown in 2020. Longwood was a runaway favorite in the voting conducted by the league’s nine head coaches, hauling in eight first-place votes en route to their fifth consecutive selection as the Big South preseason No. 1.

The 2020 schedule includes several upcoming weekend home games: March 28, April 4, April 5 and April 11. It might be fun to take in a game with your student if you’re planning a trip to campus later this semester.

 —Sabrina Brown

Especially for Valentine’s Day: Students Report Their Good News

If you’re like me, you often hear more about problems than you do about what’s going well in your student’s life. That’s what we get for loving and supporting them—they feel safe telling us everything. 🙂

So, with Valentine’s Day coming up tomorrow, I thought you might enjoy hearing some of the good things that have been happening around here this semester. Even though just a few students are featured below, I think most Longwood students—including yours—could come up with a similar happy experience.

It made me smile to meet these students and talk to them for a few minutes. Hope their comments and photos below have the same effect on you.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

—Sabrina Brown

Study Buddies

Last week in biology I made two new friends to study with. We really didn’t communicate until we bonded over how hard a test was. Now we plan on doing better in the class with each other’s help.
Erica Lucy ’23
Kinesiology

Getting Her First-Gen “Peeps” Together

I joined a new organization that I’m helping to create—a support network for first-generation college students (like me!).
Cece Corbin ’22
Liberal Studies/Elementary Education

A Poet—And He Knows It

I’m still in school, so that’s a plus. I’m focusing a lot of energy on poetry. I think I want to be a writer now. My poetry professor has been giving me a lot of great critiques, and my poetry has definitely improved.

Jackson White ’21
Psychology

Old Friends, New Friends

My best friend from high school came down to visit me this weekend. I got to show her around campus and introduce her to my new college friends. We baked cookies together and we went to Hampden-Sydney so I could meet a friend of hers that goes there. He cooked us a really delicious fried rice dinner.
Sydney Warren ’23
Mathematics

Making the Grades

I got a 100 on a group project and raised a C to a B in my psychology class.
Justin Harris ’23
Psychology

Sunset on the Trail

I went biking on the High Bridge Trail last week and watched the sunset.
Eli Carr ’23
Business Management

An Ounce of Prevention

I was able to avoid getting the flu because of you [Mom]. I used all the home remedies you taught me. I also managed to do exceptionally well on my first neuroscience exams of the semester.
Angel Rowlett ’21
Psychology

Superlative Praise

On Monday, I gave a presentation, and my professor said it was one of the best presentations he’d ever seen.
Benjamin Phillips ’21
History

Effect and Cause?

Classes are going great this week, and I’m still getting enough sleep.
Nam Nguyen ’20
Mathematics

So Much To Do—But Loving It

I have been very busy with honor and conduct board, my RA job and new member process with sorority events each week—and a lot of studying. I am learning how to have more fun and balancing better so far this semester. All my professors are so encouraging and supportive, which I am so grateful for. And I’m looking forward to some fun times during spring break at Disney World!!
Brooklynn Weissenfluh ’22
Communication Sciences and Disorders

Going Up

I managed to raise my bio grade by almost a full letter grade.
Ronald Rempert ’23
Biology

Look Who’s Talking

I had great conversations with Dr. Kat Tracy [professor of medieval literature] in my mythology class.
Kendall Throne ’21
English

 

 

Razzle Dazzle: NYC choreographer coaches student cast

Longwood faculty are constantly looking for ways to enrich your students’ education, and the weeklong workout a New York City choreographer gave the cast of an upcoming campus production of Chicago is a perfect example.

Marisa Kirby, who also is a professional actor and director, spent an entire week working with the 15 students who will sing, act and dance their hearts out in Chicago later this month. Kirby has worked on many well-known shows, including Guys and Dolls, 42nd Street, Cabaret and—most importantly—Chicago, in which she played Velma.

What brought Kirby to Longwood? Her BFF, Longwood theatre faculty member Lacy Klinger.

All 15 cast members, who represent a variety of majors, had the opportunity to work with Marisa Kirby (right), a choreographer, director and actor based in New York City.

“Marisa and I were dance teachers and choreographers during high school at the same dance studio in our hometown, and we’ve been best friends ever since,” said Klinger, an assistant professor of acting and voice, and movement.

“I reached out to Marisa when the theatre faculty decided to produce Chicago. She has experience creating movement inspired by Bob Fosse, the original choreographer of Chicago, so I knew her expertise would translate perfectly into the concept of our production.”

Kirby was on campus from Jan. 27-Feb. 4, preparing students for the performances set for Feb. 20-23 in Longwood’s Jarman Auditorium. Among the 15 students in the cast are seven theatre majors, four music majors and one each in communication studies, history, biology and special education.

“Marisa is able to reach a multitude of students through humor and enthusiasm, and push them beyond what they believed was possible,” said Klinger. “She makes everyone she works with better.”

That was certainly the case for Erica Johnson ’21, a theatre major who is playing Velma.

“Something interesting for me is I haven’t really had a heavy dance background, but I’m getting exposed to this heavy dance show by a professional,” said Johnson. “It’s really a good experience for me because I’m kind of being thrown in, but at the same time, I’m learning so much.”

In addition to the actors in the show, students are working behind the scenes as assistant choreographer, hair and makeup designer, assistant lighting designer and sound designer.

Klinger said the students on the production side are creating a unique version of the musical for the Longwood run, and that some of the work they’ve done has given her chills. “The concepts for the visual presentation of the cast are so daring, so exciting and so unlike any other production of Chicago I’ve seen that I got chills,” she said.

Choreographer Marisa Kirby said she could tell that the Longwood students were driven and passionate about their work.

All the more reason for students to follow Klinger’s advice.

“I always tell students, no matter what the production, ‘This is your show. This show will never exist again in the way it exists right now. Once it closes, that is the end of this specific, magical experience … so enjoy all of the people and things involved while you can.”

Chicago is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. Set in Jazz Age Chicago, it’s based on a 1926 play about actual criminals and features the work of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse.

Longwood’s performances are at 7 p.m. Feb. 20-22, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Feb. 22 and 23. If you’re up for a trip to campus, tickets are available through the Longwood Theatre Box Office.

—Sabrina Brown

Experiences of a Lifetime Available for Your Lancer

(In the photo above, Boston’s Harvard Square becomes an outdoor classroom for students to ponder how public art impacts communities.)

Here at Longwood, we think nothing fits the description “experience of a lifetime” better than our Brock Experiences. This academic program takes students to locations throughout the United States to ponder and explore important issues of the day—all the while learning skills they can apply in their future careers.

Four programs will be offered in 2020, two of which still have spaces available. I’ve been told the Boston program is filling up quickly; applications for Yellowstone will be accepted through about mid-March.

However, applications are accepted throughout the year and are handled on a rolling basis. So if your student wants to take advantage of this opportunity this year or next, there’s no time like the present to submit an application.

The programs scheduled for 2020 are
—The Future of Puerto Rico, June 21-July 2 (filled)
—Water Access: Colorado River, May 25-June 6 (filled)
—Art and Culture: Boston, June 8-16
—Stewardship of Public Lands: Yellowstone, May 12-21

Applications for the Brock Experiences program in Yellowstone are being accepted through about mid-March.

Other programs on the Brock Experiences roster that may be offered next year include
—Chesapeake Bay Stewardship
—Immigration: Arizona and Richmond, Virginia

Enrollment in Brock Experiences, which students take for academic credit, is kept relatively small, ranging from nine spots in the Colorado River program to about 40 for Yellowstone. Faculty members plan the curriculum for each course and accompany students to the study location, guiding them as they consider critical questions such as
—“Who owns water and how should it be used?”
—“How do the arts and humanities improve communities and enhance our understanding of our own roles as citizens?”
—“What are the responsibilities of the United States to its territories like Puerto Rico?”
—“How do we best manage our diverse natural landscape?”

Students followed the Colorado River through four states to explore issues surrounding water rights.

In addition to the work they do while “on location,” students complete assignments when they return to campus.

Brock Experiences Director Josh Blakely emphasizes that the programs include “rigorous academic work” and are not field trips or a sightseeing tour.

“A Brock Experience is a transformative learning opportunity that will open students’ eyes to the ways people can work together to tackle complex problems in the world,” he said. “We’ve seen students come alive as a result of these courses, finding areas they’re passionate about and ways to enhance their future careers.”

Dr. Alix Fink, Wilma Register Sharp and Marc Boyd Sharp Dean of the Cormier Honors College for Citizen Scholars, heads up the Yellowstone program, which has been active at Longwood for 15 years. It was folded into the Brock Experiences when the program was created in 2016 with a $5.9 million gift from Joan ’64 and Macon Brock.

“These aren’t fun trips to some cool place,” said Fink. “Students come away more prepared to have challenging conversations, to ask difficult questions and to talk with fellow citizens whose view are very different from their own.

“Not only are those skills one uses in the workplace, but they are the very skills that citizens need to address challenges in our community.”

Costs vary by program, with the program fee covering housing in the field, transportation once the student arrives at the location, many meals and educational activities. The fee for the Boston program, for example, is $750. Students are responsible for their transportation to the program location and spending money.

Scholarships are available based on demonstrated financial need.

More information on Brock Experiences: http://www.longwood.edu/academics/brock-experiences/

Program applications: http://www.longwood.edu/academics/brock-experiences/

Separate scholarship application: https://longwood.academicworks.com

—Sabrina Brown

Keeping a High Profile: More than 100 students head into the community for MLK Service Challenge

More than 25 students helped out at the Free Family Workshop held at the Morton Museum in partnership with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts.

(In the photo above, student volunteers work with participants in the Free Family Workshop held at the Morton Museum in partnership with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts.)

Longwood students were a very visible presence in Farmville and the surrounding area on Monday of this week.

Your Lancer may have been among the 120 or so students who headed out to lend a helping hand to several community projects as part of the Jan. 20 MLK Service Challenge. Projects ranged from giving animals at the Southside SPCA in Meherrin some much appreciated attention to sweeping, dusting and mopping at Madeline’s House, an area women’s shelter.

The Southside YMCA was one beneficiary of this year’s MLK Service Challenge.

In all, 12 projects received some TLC from the Longwood students and a number of faculty and staff who also participated.

“The best thing about the MLK Service Challenge is that students from all walks of life, different backgrounds and different beliefs come together to uphold Dr. King’s legacy by serving their community,” said Quincy Goodine, a staff member in Multicultural Affairs at Longwood, who organizes the event.

Organizing books was one task taken on by student volunteers at the Andy Taylor Center for Early Childhood Development.

Other projects and organizations on the receiving end of Longwood students’ help included
*Andy Taylor Center for Early Childhood Development
*Free Family Workshop at the Moton Museum in partnership with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA)
*South Virginia Street Community Garden
*Clean Virginia Waterways roadside cleanup
*Southside YMCA

Longwood volunteers helped get the South Virginia Street Community Garden in shape for spring planting.

“We definitely could not have done this [Free Family Workshop] without the volunteers,” said Kristen Mosley, an LCVA staff member. “They were so engaging with the community and made the event joyous for all of us.”

More than 200 members of the community turned out to make “Dream Big” hats and wall hangings at the workshop, which also included poetry readings and the premiere of a hip-hop video.

With a Moton Museum mural in the background, children create their own art with the help of student volunteers at the Free Family Workshop co-sponsored by the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts. More than 25 students helped with the event.

Goodine said the students’ efforts have a significant impact on the community—and on the students themselves.

“It shows our students are thinking outside the box and that they are aware of areas and issues outside campus,” he said. “People are very grateful, and they often want students to come back—whether for an internship or another service opportunity.

“They say the Longwood students are a pleasure to work with and eager to get involved.”

I often say that Longwood students are the best young people around—helpful, considerate, positive and hard-working. The MLK Service Challenge was a perfect example of that. You can be very proud!

—Sabrina Brown

At Longwood, It’s Always Safety First

(The photo above is from this year’s Campus Safety Walk, a joint initiative of Longwood students, LUPD and the Office of Residential and Commuter Life. The walk’s goal is to identify areas on campus where safety can be improved, especially after dark.)

Nothing is more important to Longwood’s administrators, faculty and staff than the safety of your student.

The resources we devote to personnel, programming, planning and communication; the high standards we set for our campus police department; and the attention we pay to the safety concerns of students are just a few indicators of how seriously the university takes this responsibility.

“In the last 10 years, we have nearly doubled the security budget on campus, including growing our law enforcement staff to more than double the national average for a population our size,” said Dr. Tim Pierson, vice president for student affairs, who oversees the Longwood Police Department. “That kind of commitment from the top down … is a real testament to the values and forward-thinking practices put in place over that time.”

LUPD is accredited by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, a distinction held by less than a third of the law enforcement agencies in the state.

The Longwood Police Department is recognized as one of the best college police department’s in the nation. Over the last 11 years, Longwood has consistently outperformed Virginia’s other colleges and universities in the higher education category of Security magazine’s annual rankings. LUPD’s latest top-20 ranking, which was announced in late 2019, is the department’s eighth in the last 10 years.

In addition, LUPD is accredited by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission, a distinction held by less than a third of the law enforcement agencies in the state.

Below are a few of the university’s efforts, initiatives and services. You’ll see that some of the safety measures available require you and/or your student to sign up or take another action. Please encourage your student to take full advantage of every service Longwood offers to help them stay safe.

Alerts.Longwood.edu
Anyone with an interest in campus safety can sign up for email and text alerts at this website, which provides up-to-date information about any situation that could affect the safety of Longwood students. Students’ automatically receive emails through this alert system, but they must go to the site and sign up to receive text messages.

In addition, alerts.longwood.edu provides information about Longwood’s inclement weather policy, a list of emergency phone numbers and links to additional safety resources.

#SafeAtLongwood
Encourage your student to use the hashtag #SafeAtLongwood on their public social media accounts to let you and others know they’re safe in the event of a major emergency. During a major crisis, cell service might be down.

Sixty emergency blue-light phones placed at strategic outdoor locations provide direct communication with the Longwood Police Department

Emergency Phones and Security Cameras
More than 300 security cameras keep an eye on the campus and university-managed housing complexes. In addition, more than 100 emergency area-of-rescue photos placed inside buildings and 60 emergency blue-light phones placed at strategic outdoor locations provide direct communication with the Longwood Police Department.

Safety Programming
The Longwood Police Department provides a range of programming designed to help keep your student safe. Here are just a few examples:
 —Personal Safety Seminars
These seminars are designed to improve students’ safety habits. Topics include alcohol awareness, residence hall security, personal safety habits, reporting illegal or suspicious activity, crime on campus and police services. This program allows the student the opportunity to address safety concerns and to receive an appropriate response.
—R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense)
The Rape Aggression Defense system is dedicated to teaching women defensive concepts and techniques against various types of assault by utilizing easy, effective and proven self-defense/martial arts tactics.
—Code Red
This program is designed to make participants aware of their surroundings with an all-hazards approach. Participants also learn the appropriate actions to take to protect themselves and others in an active threat situation. Severe weather safety measures are also covered.

—Sabrina Brown

 

 

 

 

All About Scholarships: March 1 application deadline approaches as a new initiative gets rolling

Here at Longwood we recognize that your student’s college education is a major investment for your family. Longwood’s president, W. Taylor Reveley IV, has said many times that Longwood is committed to keeping costs as affordable as possible. This year’s tuition freeze and several previous years’ lower-than-average tuition increases are evidence of the sincerity of that commitment.

But that’s not all Longwood is doing.

This fall the university announced a scholarship initiative that aims to create 90 new endowed scholarships (25 each in Longwood’s three main academic colleges—arts and sciences, business and economics, and education and human services—and 15 in athletics) through a matching program established by several key donors.

The Family Scholarship Program is already well on its way with 18 new scholarships at some stage of being created as I write this. Each $15,000 scholarship gift will be matched by the key donors up to a total of $375,000 in each of the colleges and $225,000 in athletics.

And there’s more good news. In addition to the endowed scholarships, the Family Scholarship Program was structured to create some additional $1,000  scholarships that can begin to be awarded right away.

These new scholarships will be administered by the Longwood University Foundation, which already awards in the neighborhood of 300 scholarships a year to Longwood students.

There are scholarships available for all Longwood students—including all current undergraduate and graduate students as well as incoming transfer students and freshmen.

In fact, most Longwood students meet the criteria for an average of five different scholarships. A description of these scholarships and the application can be found here: https://longwood.academicworks.com/?page=2

All it takes for your student to be considered is about five minutes to fill out the application and, for a few scholarships, the time required to write an essay or two. The deadline to submit applications for scholarships to be awarded for the 2020-21 academic year is March 1, 2020. So let your student know there’s no time like the present to get started on the application.

The university expects to notify recipients no later than July 1, 2020.

Here’s hoping your student is on the receiving end of one of these Longwood University Foundation scholarships!

—Sabrina Brown

Looking for Fun? Make It a Back-to-Campus Weekend in Farmville

Longwood-managed housing reopens at noon on Saturday, Jan. 11. If you happen to be bringing your student back to campus in person, you might want to consider hanging out in Farmville for the weekend.

Farmville may not be a big city—but don’t let that fool you.

There is plenty to do, from art exhibitions to live music to hiking and biking. And don’t forget the shopping, especially if you’re in the market for new furniture, rugs or accessories. Take Green Front Furniture, for example, where you’ll find 900,000 square feet of showroom space filled to the brim in 12 different buildings.

Hotel Weyanoke is right across the street from campus and offers a discount for Longwood parents.

If you want to spend the night, accommodations abound, including Hotel Weyanoke, which offers a luxurious boutique hotel experience right across from campus (on High Street) and right around the corner from Main Street. For the 10 percent discount available to parents, just mention LU10 when you make a reservation.

Here are just a few of the other places you might want to explore in downtown Farmville…

The High Bridge Trail: a hiking and biking path with a history and one of the most spectacular views in this part of Virginia

High Bridge Trail offers hiking, biking and spectacular views from the bridge.

Longwood Center for the Visual Arts: Rural Avant-Garde: The Mountain Lake Experience exhibition is not to be missed

Moton Museum: an exploration of the genesis and history of the civil rights movement

The Moton Museum sheds light on the civil rights movement and Farmville’s role.

An impressive selection of noncorporate restaurants offering eclectic and imaginative cuisine, including: North Street Press Club, Effingham’s, one19, Uptown Coffee Café, The Brew House and Charley’s Waterfront Café, to mention a few

One19 (top) and North Street Press Club are among the restaurants offering eclectic and imaginative cuisine.

The Virginia Tasting Cellar: live music and a sampling of Virginia’s best wines

Three Roads Brewing: handcrafted beer and live music

If you’re looking for a fun weekend, Farmville is a sure bet. Hope to see you around town soon!

—Sabrina Brown

Wishing You and Your Family the Best in 2020!

Longwood is officially closed for winter break. Offices will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 2. The first day of spring semester classes for undergraduates is Tuesday, Jan. 14.

I hope your holidays have been filled with love, laughter, good food, family, rest and relaxation—maybe with a little snow thrown in for good measure.

Thank you for entrusting Longwood with the education of your student. We take that responsibility very seriously, and we look forward to helping your Lancer continue that journey with the start of the spring semester.

All the best to you and your family in 2020!

–Sabrina Brown

 

A Trifecta of Recognition Puts a Bow on the Fall Semester

Longwood received three great pieces of news recently that are a testament to the growing stature of our university. If you’re out visiting family and friends over the holidays and there’s a lull in the conversation, consider using one of these points of Longwood pride to fill the gap!

The Short and Sweet Version…

1. Biology Professor Earns Statewide Honor

Dr. Amorette Barber received a patent in 2018 for her research on new cancer treatments.

Dr. Amorette Barber, associate professor of biology and director of the Office of Student Research, received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia recognizing her impact both in and out of the classroom. Only 12 of these awards are given each year, with more than 100 faculty usually nominated for the honor.

2. Prestigious Grant for Core Curriculum

The prestigious Teagle Foundation, known in philanthropic circles for its commitment to strengthening the liberal arts at the college level, awarded Longwood a major grant ($100,000) to support implementation of the university’s new Civitae core curriculum. Other institutions receiving grants this year include Yale, Brandeis, Columbia and NYU–so Longwood is in very good company.

3. Police Department Makes Top 20 in National Ranking

Longwood University’s Police Department was again ranked among the top 20 in the nation by Security Magazine. The department has been ranked in the top 20 eight times in the last 10 years and this year is the top-ranked police department among Virginia colleges and universities.

A Few More Details…

1. Biology Professor Earns Statewide Honor

It’s hard to imagine anyone more qualified for an Outstanding Faculty Award than Dr. Amorette Barber, who joined the Longwood faculty in 2011. Barber balances her research with a heavy teaching load and her responsibilities as director of the Office of Student Research. She is known as an engaging teacher who challenges her students while keeping the classroom environment lively and captivating.

Barber’s work in her research lab has broken new ground—in 2018, she earned a patent for developing an immunotherapy treatment for numerous cancers. That came as she has mentored dozens of students who have gone on to medical school and some of the top graduate programs in the country, including Dartmouth and the University of Chicago.

2. Prestigious Grant for Core Curriculum

President W. Taylor Reveley IV said the $100,000 grant from the New York-based Teagle Foundation should “serve as a powerful reminder that what we’re doing here is truly distinctive, noble, important for the country, and a model for others to follow.”

Specifically what Longwood has done is develop an innovative core curriculum, named Civitae (pronounced SIV-i-tay), that is designed to prepare students for 21st-century careers while developing them as citizen leaders equipped to serve their own communities.

Many Civitae classes take a cross-disciplinary approach.

Unlike many general education programs, Civitae courses are taken throughout a Longwood student’s four-year tenure. Longwood launched Civitae in fall 2018, so current freshmen and sophomores are the first to take these classes.

Civitae builds from exploratory Foundation classes in rhetoric, citizenship and different liberal arts and sciences disciplines to Perspectives classes that form connections between areas of study to broaden horizons and foster scholarly inquiry. Civitae culminates in a Symposium for the Common Good, an intense, semesterlong study of the campuswide theme E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One), taught from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.

The Teagle grant will fund a program to help Longwood faculty across a range of disciplines to develop Symposium courses for the new curriculum, bringing in recognized scholars and making use of founding texts of American democracy.

3. Police Department Makes Top 20 in National Ranking

We know campus safety is a top priority for you and your student, and that’s why Longwood invests in a top-notch police department that has drawn national recognition.

“The Longwood University Police Department is a real point of pride for the university, and we hear from parents and students each day that they have a lot of confidence in the safety of our campus,” said Dr. Tim Pierson, vice president for student affairs, who oversees the department. “In the last 10 years, we have nearly doubled the security budget on campus, including growing our law enforcement staff to more than double the national average for a population our size.”

The Longwood Police Department sponsored an egg hunt for students last spring as part of its community-building effort.

The police department has adopted community-policing practices focused on building connections with the community and utilizing proactive, student-focused crime-prevention strategies that include free security-focused training and making police officers available to students in nonenforcement capacities.

—Sabrina Brown